When Blogger Went Silent: A Reappraisal in the Aftermath

A few days ago, as most everyone knows, Blogger went down for the count. Some posts were lost. Some comments vanished. And for what seemed like two days but might have been slightly less, Blogger users such as moi were banned from uploading new posts.



A quiet descended.



Call me strange (you won't be the first), but I suspect that the enforced stillness of the technical breakdown subtly changed the relationship many of us have with our blogs. Barred from access, we walked away. We were not, for that instant in time, chroniclers, newsmakers, heralders, opinion-istas. What we thought, we simply thought (or telegraphed in brief on Facebook or Twitter).



When Blogger repaired its many woes and let us bloggers back on line, I had the sensation I would sometimes get as a toweled-off child standing by the frothy shore.  The waters seemed suddenly more brisk and more deep.  I'd have to take a running plunge to feel that warmth and float again.



What is it, again, you were blogging about? I asked myself. What had you come to say? Who did you suppose was listening, after all? And how well have you been listening to others?



I've returned, obviously. I'm back, but I'm reassessing. What it is that I am doing here. What I want my own blog history to be.